Michael Murphy is head of information management and data analytics at Bam<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Imagine if your local hospital or school could sense when it\u2019s too hot, adjust the temperature and even schedule its own maintenance. That future isn\u2019t decades away. It\u2019s already here.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about cutting costs or going green. It\u2019s about reimagining the very fabric of the public estate\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The UK public sector has one of the largest property portfolios to manage in Europe: more than 300,000 properties with a value of about \u00a3192bn. From prisons to military bases, these buildings form the backbone of the nation. But maintaining them efficiently, sustainably and affordably is a huge challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s where AI is stepping in, bringing in a new era of building intelligence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bill Gates famously predicted that AI could soon replace humans in many routine tasks. What if the next frontier isn\u2019t just automating jobs, but automating buildings?<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re already building new schools, hospitals and offices with digital twins \u2013 virtual replicas that mirror the real buildings. Each one is constantly fed with data from sensors within the building, gauging temperature and humidity, energy usage and occupancy levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This effectively gives the building a brain. At Dunfermline Learning Campus, where 2,700 students learn in a facility consuming just 45kWh per square metre a year, that brain is already at work, helping to optimise energy use and comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n What makes these buildings different isn\u2019t just that they collect data \u2013 it\u2019s that they act on it. Once equipped with AI, over time, the brain can learn how the building behaves so it can react intelligently.<\/span><\/p>\n Lighting systems automatically dim or brighten depending on occupancy, heating systems self-adjust in real time, and maintenance teams are alerted before a fault occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n These systems aren\u2019t designed to replace human expertise, but to augment it \u2013 freeing up estate teams to focus on strategy, sustainability and service delivery rather than firefighting faults.<\/span><\/p>\n AI\u2019s potential isn\u2019t limited to operations. The technology can support the entire building lifecycle. In the design phase, digital twins allow us to simulate different materials, layouts and energy models to find the most sustainable, cost-effective solutions before we build a single wall.<\/span><\/p>\n And once the building is up and running, the twin becomes an indispensable tool. It helps facilities managers see in real time how the building is performing and where improvements can be made.<\/span><\/p>\n Need to optimise air quality in a busy school? Want to reduce energy bills in an NHS facility? The data\u2019s already there, and the building itself is learning how to respond.<\/span><\/p>\n The future? Buildings that aren\u2019t just responsive, but proactive.<\/span><\/p>\n As AI continues to evolve, buildings will learn from their own data and make intelligent decisions without human intervention. A school might automatically adjust its energy usage during holidays. A hospital could tweak airflow in real time to maintain perfect air quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Buildings might one day share their knowledge with each other: entire networks of intelligent structures, learning and adapting as one.<\/span><\/p>\n In the next decade, AI-powered buildings will go from novelty to norm, reshaping cities, transforming public services and setting a new standard for what\u2019s possible. As pressure mounts to decarbonise, cut costs and improve resilience, AI-driven asset management will become central to how we design, build and operate the public estate.<\/span><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just about cutting costs or going green. It\u2019s about reimagining the very fabric of the public estate. If we get it right, the UK\u2019s next great infrastructure revolution won\u2019t be built with bricks, but with data.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Michael Murphy is head of information management and data analytics at Bam Imagine if your local hospital or school could sense when it\u2019s too hot, adjust the temperature and even schedule its own maintenance. That future isn\u2019t decades away. It\u2019s already here. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about cutting costs or going green. It\u2019s about reimagining the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":532682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[567,556,579],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-532890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-sustainability","category-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nSmarter from the start<\/span><\/h3>\n